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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. This piece is in a major ________________.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. lean — to bend
  4. key — in music
  5. key — the most important part
  6. cap — of ice
  7. pit — a hole
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. plane — a tool
  10. lean — thin
  11. key — for a lock
  12. club — a group
  13. file — a tool
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. cap — a hat
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. branch — a division
  18. pit — in a race
  19. club — for golf
  20. file — a document
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. cap — a lid
  23. file — a line of people
  24. pit — a fruit stone

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com